Waves
by obeydontstray
Summary: (Revamped) The Wyatts get a day off and Erick has an idea on how they should spend it. Oneshot. (Here, have some pointless Wyatt fluff.)


Why did he ever let Erick talk him into this? The gigantic ginger had practically begged Bray and Luke to take him to the beach as soon as they made it into the state.

"C'mon Bray, I've always wanted to swim in the ocean!" Erick exclaimed, excitedly watching out the window as they drove down the coast. "Aren't you tired of swamp and river water?"

"You're ginger, Erick. You'll be red as a lobster ten minutes in." Luke grumbled. He, for one had been to the beach before, and he was no fan of the sand and salt.

"Braun's never been to the beach either!" Erick proclaimed to the front seat occupants.

Bray glanced at the dark haired man in the driver's seat. "What do you think, Luke?"

Luke's eyes traveled to the rearview mirror where Erick's reflection was clasping his hands in a childlike gesture.

"Pleeeease!" Erick whined from the backseat.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Luke exhaled. "Let's take the big baby to the beach."

.

One disastrous Wal-Mart trip later, Luke manhandled the cooler from the back of the car as Erick (having changed into swim trunks in the Walmart bathroom) ran ahead, anxious to get to the beach before the other men.

"Erick! Get back here!" Bray called, grasping Erick's already discarded shirt. "Put this back on before you burn!" He chided, throwing him the shirt and the sun block. "And lotion up that big head of yours."

Luke wandered out to the beach behind Erick, dragging the cooler with him. Bray and Braun ducked into port-a-potty stalls to change into their swim trunks. After pulling his hawaiian shirt back on and slipping his feet into flip flops, Bray tossed his clothes into the truck and carried his and Luke's chairs out onto the beach.

A bit later Bray, Luke, and Braun kicked back in their beach chairs at the edge of the beach as they hid out under a large umbrella, the cooler between them as the water washing up over their bare feet.

"This isn't half bad." Bray said as he pushed back the brim of his straw fedora.

"This probably looks very weird, three grown men taking a very large grown man to the beach." Luke observed, digging to the bottom of the cooler for the coldest beer he could reach.

"Oh well." Bray sighed. "Not every day we get to take the kid somewhere."

Erick squatted in the low tide, poking at a few hermit crabs with a piece of driftwood. "Are you guys coming in?" He said to the other men, squinting against the bright sun.

"Maybe in a bit." Bray sighed, kicking back in his chair and enjoying the sun.

.

Bray awoke with a start at the sound of a mournful wail. Startled, he sat up in his chair just in time to find Erick fussing over a smashed sand castle. "What the hell is wrong with you, boy?" Bray asked and Erick pointed to Luke.

"He smashed my castle!"

The wild eyed man grinned from under the umbrella, arms crossed in an act of defiance. "It was in my way!"

A small noise of disbelief escaped Erick's lips and he crossed his arms over his bare chest, his shirt having been discarded once more.

"Seriously guys! What are you, five?" Bray grumbled before swigging what was left of his now warm beer and sticking the brown bottle down into the sand.

Erick frowned and crossed his arms over his knees. "That was Princess Abigail's castle!"

Bray flinched at the sound of her name, but dismissed the anger quickly. "Why don't you put your shirt back on and go back in the water? You're getting pretty burnt here on the beach."

Erick glanced at his redding legs and shrugged. "Only if you get in."

Bray sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. This beach trip had totally turned the ginger into a giant child. "Braun's already in. Go play with him or something."

"C'mon!" Erick urged and Bray sighed again and stood, watching as Erick grinned and jumped up, running for the waves.

"Are you coming?" Bray asked, noticing Luke still wearing his stained undershirt and his jeans rolled up to his knees.

"I'm not getting in that salt water." He replied as he fussed with a small radio he'd bought.

"Suit yourself." Bray said, taking off his shirt and tossing it across the back of his chair. The sun had already darkened his chest by a shade while he slept.

.

The cold water stung his warm flesh as Bray held his breath, cupping his hands and propelling himself forward. With a few kicks he pushed himself further through the water, blindly cutting a path away from the beach. Surfacing, he fought to push the dark strands of hair clinging to his face away and locate the shore. The alcohol in his system warmed him in the cold water, giving him a pleasant buzzed feeling. He spotted the blinding white of Erick's skin under the surface of the water as he swam by, his big feet causing waves as he kicked by. He glanced at Luke who was slowly surrounding his chair with a semi circle of brown bottles pushed into the sand. Erick surfaced nearby, wiping the water from his eyes before diving through a small wave. Braun, as big as he is, was barely visible in the sunlight as he waded chest deep into the water.

Bray found himself wondering just what is so great about the beach. In the broad open area he felt exposed. Sure he liked swimming well enough, but he was already so bored. He eyed a group of bikini clad girls walking across the sand and he debated briefly on talking to them. Ultimately he decided against it. Not that he couldn't get them to talk to him or anything. A splash of water to his face causes him to turn just in time to see Erick's grin. "I swear I will end you Rowan."

Defiantly Erick splashed him again. Bray elected to shoot the bigger man a dirty look. "Erick I swear to god. I'm not twelve. Knock it off."

Erick shrugged at his comment. "Just loosen up some. Enjoy the beach." He replied, shocking Bray with the first grown up comment he'd made in hours.

"I'm not a beach kinda guy." Bray replied before turning away and sloshing his way back to the shore. A particularly sharp shell cut his foot as he walked out of the water. "Great." He muttered, trying his best to not walk directly on it.

Back under the umbrella Luke sat, nursing what looked to be his sixth beer or so. Bray sunk into his chair and immediately inspected his foot, cursing at the sight of it being a decent flesh wound. Luke dug around in the cooler and passed Bray another beer.

"Thanks."

"Yup." Luke replied, sinking back into his own chair.

"Now I see why you don't like the beach." Bray observed, keeping an eye on the rapidly redding Erick. "If Braun ever comes back to shore I think I might pull the plug on this endeavor." He could feel his own face and chest burning with too much sun. Erick was almost tomato colored at this point. The Wyatts with sunburns. Bray huffed at the thought. They just aren't beach kind of people.

"I'll take the river back home any day." Luke commented, half burying another bottle.

Bray spotted Braun swimming through the waves back towards the beach. When he limped up to his own chair Bray noticed the red whelps on the bigger man's legs. "Jellyfish?" Bray inquired and Braun nodded.

"Got wrapped around my legs on the way back." He added.

"I think we've had enough of the beach. What do ya'll think?" Bray asked and the other men grunted in agreement.

Luke moved to gathering up the empty bottles and depositing them back in the mostly empty cooler. "I'm going to the car." He commented.

"I'm driving." Bray replied and the larger man nodded as he started the treck back to the car. "C'mon Erick, we're leaving." Bray called.

The larger man gathered his prized seashells he'd hoarded and followed.

.

After drying off and changing everyone piled into the car.

Burnt, sandy as hell, and wind blistered Bray determined that this would be his first and last beach visit. All he wanted was a hot shower. And food. He vowed to stop at whatever greasy fast food joint they encountered first. As he pulled away from the parking lot Bray rolled all the windows down, letting in the cool evening air. Braun's face in the rearview was contorted. He was trying to act like the jellyfish hadn't hurt him. And Erick...well Erick was already asleep in the backseat.

Bray punched Luke's arm, pointing out the sleeping ginger to him. "At least someone enjoyed all of that." He commented and Luke shrugged.

The only not sunburnt man in the car, Luke figured the beach trip hadn't been a total loss for him. "I've been drinking on a beach all day. I've spent my off days in worse situations."

Bray had to agree with him. "Now where's the next burger joint?


End file.
